And The Sing-Off Winner Is...

The Sing-Off finale delivered two hours worth of filler before finally naming a champion.

Following a group performance of Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel," the finalists sang for a variety of causes in order to remind us that there's a special Christmas episode next week. Yes, NBC is this desperate for programming...

Pentatonix - "Without You" – The five performers went to the Trevor project, which continued to emphasize the outcast-factor that Pentatonix possessed. It was just weird having Avi talk about being Jewish when there was an obvious pink elephant in the room that we’ll continue to ignore. The opening was a bit off and throughout the song the group sounded pitchy. Is this what groups actually sound like live? The mixing just made come across as noise and the group sounded like they were yelping the whole time. Pentatonix was my favorite of the whole season, and this performance just wasn't at the caliber it placed upon itself.

Urban Method - "Stereo Hearts" – With several contestants having relatives with Sickle Cell, the group decided to support the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation. I'm not sure exactly what the song had to do with Sickle Cell, but I found it interesting the way they arranged it. The track was easily distinguishable from the arrangement. The high note right before the final chorus didn't sound right at all.

Dartmouth Aires - Paradise by the Dashboard Light – With Michael having a mother that had a stroke, the group decided to perform for Saving Strokes. Of course, Michael took lead and with him piloting the performance, it really didn't matter what everyone else did. They had fun with flashlights. The use of Amy from Delilah was great, but it did show the flaw in having all-male groups perform a song with female vocals included.

Pentatonix (with Nick Lachey) - Give Me Just One Night (Una Noche) - I don't understand why Nick had some epic introduction, but it's nice to see that his vocals haven't degraded, even though his dance moves were horrid. I'm not really sure why Pentatonix was really there, it could have just been Nick with Kirstin. The breakdown near the end sounded the most like Pentatonix. At least Vanessa Manillo was happy in the audience.

Urban Method (with Sara Bareilles) - Gonna Get over You - Sara has been a great addition to the judging panel and she was a big fan during practice. I like the whole 50s inspiration of the performance and it allowed Sara to look good doing really simplistic choreography. I don't think that Sara was loud enough, especially in comparison to Nick just performing. The song itself didn't fit Urban Method at all and made them sound like every college group that's auditioned for the show.

Dartmouth Aires (with Ben Folds) - Not the Same - There was something very church-y about getting the whole audience to interact. I also thought it was really odd that there was no package piece for the group practicing, as if they never practiced with Ben.

Finally, 90 minutes in, Urban Method was eliminated, leaving us with Dartmouth Airs and Pentatonix. And the winner is... PENTATONIX!

The result was a great payoff for a long season, although the act finished with an awful version of “Eye of the Tiger,” which lacked any of the originality that Pentatonix prided themselves in throughout their run. Oh well.